2008 Woodie Awards
Prop. 98 Changes May Affect Well-Being of School
Elizabeth Agobian
Issue date: 3/9/05 Section: News
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Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is proposing legislation to "rebase" Proposition 98 levels, meaning less funding for California schools, according to Citrus College officials.
In 1988, California voters approved Prop. 98, an initiative guaranteeing the kindergarten through community college educational systems a minimum amount of state and property tax revenue each year. That amount was about 40 percent of the states' general fund.
In practice, schools are entitled to the same amount of funding allocated the previous year, plus the cost of enrollment growth and an inflation adjustment equal to the change in per capita personal income in the state.
However, if the state's economy in a given year is in difficulty, the state is allowed to provide a lesser amount to education, contingent on the agreement that the difference be repaid in a future year.
EdSource is a non-profit organization in California, which develops and distributes useful information that clarifies complex K-12 education issues. According to its online explanation of Prop. 98, the principles Prop. 98 relies on to determine the amount of money given to education were constructed on the assumption that the state's General Fund growth would remain stable from one year to the next.
However, the California economy has been unpredictable in the last five years, resulting in mid-year cuts or a deferring of payments to many educational institutions in an effort to lower the amount of the guarantee for the following year.
All this, plus the $9 billion deficit California faces right now have been the driving forces behind Schwarzenegger's proposal to amend Prop. 98.
As it stands, in the 2005-2006 fiscal year, the state would have to allocate $4 billion above what schools are receiving now. The "deal" reached last year by the governor and the Education Coalition however, cuts that amount in half, funding schools $2 billion below what they should receive under Prop. 98 rules.
School officials may be more resentful though of the fact that this new deal goes against a 2004 agreement between Schwarzenegger and school groups to suspend the Prop. 98 school funding guarantee and shift the money to the general fund to help reduce the state's budget deficit.
In 1988, California voters approved Prop. 98, an initiative guaranteeing the kindergarten through community college educational systems a minimum amount of state and property tax revenue each year. That amount was about 40 percent of the states' general fund.
In practice, schools are entitled to the same amount of funding allocated the previous year, plus the cost of enrollment growth and an inflation adjustment equal to the change in per capita personal income in the state.
However, if the state's economy in a given year is in difficulty, the state is allowed to provide a lesser amount to education, contingent on the agreement that the difference be repaid in a future year.
EdSource is a non-profit organization in California, which develops and distributes useful information that clarifies complex K-12 education issues. According to its online explanation of Prop. 98, the principles Prop. 98 relies on to determine the amount of money given to education were constructed on the assumption that the state's General Fund growth would remain stable from one year to the next.
However, the California economy has been unpredictable in the last five years, resulting in mid-year cuts or a deferring of payments to many educational institutions in an effort to lower the amount of the guarantee for the following year.
All this, plus the $9 billion deficit California faces right now have been the driving forces behind Schwarzenegger's proposal to amend Prop. 98.
As it stands, in the 2005-2006 fiscal year, the state would have to allocate $4 billion above what schools are receiving now. The "deal" reached last year by the governor and the Education Coalition however, cuts that amount in half, funding schools $2 billion below what they should receive under Prop. 98 rules.
School officials may be more resentful though of the fact that this new deal goes against a 2004 agreement between Schwarzenegger and school groups to suspend the Prop. 98 school funding guarantee and shift the money to the general fund to help reduce the state's budget deficit.